Monday, October 26, 2015

In bringing his self-awareness to a
place of public discussion through his extraordinary book, Not For Sale:
Finding Center in the Land of Crazy Horse, Maine businessman Kevin Hancock
speaks to each of us. His premise of interconnectedness and its impact on
the power of a single individual to create fundamental change comes to life for
the horses at New England’s largest horse shelter through a remarkable fundraising
opportunity.

Don’t miss the chance to own the book and read Kevin’s message of
universal family while donating life-saving dollars to a herd of horses, once
abused and neglected. For each copy of Not For Sale: Finding Center in
the Land of Crazy Horse purchased online at:

http://kevindhancock.com(enter the promo code:
MSSPA), Kevin Hancock will donate $10 to the horses at the Maine State Society
for the Protection of Animals in South Windham.

A gift for yourself or anyone you love, this remarkable and
unexpectedly spiritual book is a catalyst for using what’s on the inside of us
to reshape the outside world around us. Learn more about the non-profit
horse shelter by visiting www.msspa.org and
consider the possibility that we are all one tribe and part of the one herd.

Former
handyman icon, now real estate developer Kaile Warren has dropped plans to
convert the aging Odd Fellows Hall in Windham into an upscale arts and
community center. Warren said he commissioned an engineering firm to inspect
the building and, as he put it, “The property failed.” He said the report
showed problems with the roof and wall timbers which form a single unit,
resulting in the building “…caving and coming forward.” The bottom line,
according to Warren, was that repairs to the structure would run about 30
percent more than tearing it down and starting over.” Warren said he submitted
a lower counter-offer for the property, but it was rejected.

The
property is owned by Lake Pine Association, which handles management and
maintenance for the Odd Fellows and Rebekahs fraternal organizations that aid
groups and individuals in need of help. President Janet Waterhouse told the
Eagle that while the Odd Fellows portion of the organization no longer
functions, the association represents 10 or so remaining members of the
Rebekahs. Waterhouse said the association declined Warren’s counter-offer
because it was too low, and because she is “not so sure” about the engineer’s
conclusions.

Waterhouse
maintains that the stanchion form of construction utilized when the hall was
built in the 1950s is considered unconventional today.

“It’s
possible they’re not familiar with that kind of structure,” she said, and added
that the association may choose to hire its own engineer when their board meets
next week.

“I’m
really disappointed because (Warren) was going to do wonderful things (with the
building),” said Waterhouse.

Warren
had planned to transform the hall into an upscale community center under a
business model he called FACE, an acronym for Fundraising (non-profits),
Arts (theater groups, artists), Cultural (including multicultural
events), and Entertainment (celebrations, seminars).

Neither
side discussed financial details, but following the rejection of his
counter-offer, Warren said, “I was deeply touched by the history of the
location (which he had vowed to preserve), (but) the situation is, that as a
pragmatic businessman, deals have to make financial sense. I wish the Rebekahs
nothing but the very best in their efforts to keep the building standing.”
Warren said he will expand his search for a FACE venue both within and outside
of Windham.

Waterhouse
said that despite their reduced numbers, the Rebekahs will continue to meet
either in rented space or in members’ homes to pursue their mission of
supporting local charities and those in need.

Teen driver safety is a serious issue.
According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, traffic
crashes are the leading cause of death for teens. AAA research has shown that
for every driver age 15 to 17 killed in a crash, there are nearly two other
road users killed, including other drivers, passengers, pedestrians and
cyclists. Teen driving crashes cost society billions of dollars in annual
medical expenses, lost work, property damage, and lives are forever changed.
The unique challenge presented by teen drivers has been recognized over and
over again and Windham High School has focused in on distraction in preparation
for National Teen Driver Safety Awareness Week October 18 through October 24.

On Oct. 14, Windham High School hosted a
special informational day aimed at curbing teen driver crashes. AAA Northern
New England and AT&T joined forces to deliver a powerful message with a
number of interactive activities throughout the day. AT&T presented the
"It Can Wait" campaign, which warns against texting, web-surfing,
emailing and other forms of potentially dangerous smartphone use while driving.

AAA engaged students in a number of
hands on activities with the opportunity to experience a distracted driving
golf cart cone course and distracted driving simulator while being quizzed on
laws and best practices related to teen driver safety. The Windham and
Scarborough Police Department manned “The Convincer” a sled in which a student
can buckle up and experience the force of a 5 mph crash.

After the morning activities, event organizers;
health teacher Melissa Dubois, school resource officer Jeff Smith and assistant
principal Kelli Deveaux ushered students and teachers into the auditorium for a
presentation by prominent speakers. The speakers included Secretary of State
Matthew Dunlap and Windham’s Senator Bill Diamond (Senator Diamond is a traffic
safety champion and responsible for introducing many of Maine’s distracted
driving laws). Secretary Dunlap and Senator Diamond spoke passionately about distracted
driving and the importance of breaking this tragic habit in society. Senator
Diamond encouraged students to talk with their parents and inspire them to
eliminate the intoxicating behavior also.

After the speakers concluded AT&T vice
president Owen Smith administered an informational presentation on the
frightening statistics related to teens and distracted driving. The AT&T
presentation culminated with a powerful video “The Last Text”. The silence
following the video was profound and at that point the only thing that could
have brought home the message further was watching Kaylin Cook and Ben Tracy
make their way slowly onto the stage, Ben was using a crutch and Kaylin steading
herself with a walker and supported with two walking boots and a prominent spinal
brace. Kaylin and Ben quietly shared their story of the day their lives were
forever changed by a distracted driver. The collision occurred this past August
when an SUV crossed the center line on Route 302 and hit them head on,
resulting in Ben having a badly damaged leg and Kaylin requiring brain surgery
and 8 weeks in a wheelchair prior to being able to get around with the walker. The
couple was joined on stage by Kaylin’s mother Suzanne Grace the founder and
executive director of the Tall Pines Safety Resource Center a nonprofit
charitable organization in Maine dedicated to providing education and
information to reduce the incidence of unintentional injuries. Grace spoke of
how she works to help educate parents on how to keep their children safe and how
she almost lost her daughter in this horrible crash.

The theme for National Teen Driver
Safety Week is “Avoid Regret” and event organizers hope that the experience
will help Windham teens make responsible decisions behind the wheel and speak
up if they are a passenger or friend. TDS week is an opportune time for parents
to speak to their teenagers about motor vehicle safety so they too can “Avoid
Regret”. For more information about teen driver safety visit www.teendriving.aaa.com,
www.Tallpinesafety.org and www.itcanwait.com.

It’s
finally here! The time of year we both love and hate. It signals the end of the
warmth of summer and the beginning of the slow decline to the cold of winter.
It also starts the beginning of the invasion of what is called occasional
invaders. These are the insects that make their way in to your home to escape
the cold weather.

Some of these insects are spiders,
cluster flies, lady bugs, western conifer seed bugs and crickets. Although
these insects don’t do any damage some of them can invade in very large numbers.
In some homes I have seen hundreds of these insects emerge on a warm sunny day
in the middle of the winter. Mother Nature has tricked them into believing that
springtime has begun so out they come. If you do experience this you don’t want
to start spraying pesticides. You can put yourself in harm’s way and in the
case of lady bugs put them into distress and cause them to leave a defecation
trail on your wall as they wander off to die. Simply vacuum them up instead.

There are some things you can do to
lessen or eliminate this invasion. Sealing up any cracks or holes is a must.
Use a quality caulking or for bigger spaces, foam. Check for old holes left
open from the removal of wires or pipes. Sometimes you need to get dirty and
check where your house sits on the foundation as things have settled and spaces
have opened over time. Check your attic vents as the insect screening can
deteriate or get ripped and allow easy access.

One of the biggest entry points is doors
and windows. Make sure your door weather stripping is in good repair and
replace it if not. This will also save you some money on heat. As to windows
you can’t really seal them up, but I have come up with an easy fix for these
invaders. Once things have cooled off enough which is usually the middle of
November, take your vacuum and open a window and suck up the insects on all the
exposed surfaces both top and bottom of the window halves. That way there are
no insects to come in on those warm winter days.

If you do experience an invasion look at
the positive side, winter is probably halfway over and we are closer to those
warm days of spring.